


Dreams and Possibilities

by enthusio



Series: Coming of Age & Related Stories [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:35:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28261752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enthusio/pseuds/enthusio
Summary: Lily's 'gifts' were not appreciated by James or Rosemary.  Each of them decided to handle that in their own way.(Set during chapter 71 of Coming of Age)
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Coming of Age & Related Stories [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1279283
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Dreams and Possibilities

**Author's Note:**

> Bit of an early Christmas gift for anyone who celebrates: Lily's perspective on James' celebration ball, with cameos from James and Wendy.
> 
> The warnings and rating are excessive, but I prefer to be safe. There is no graphic anything in this story. The very last scene (the only one from Wendy's perspective) does include a few quick references to pre-story sexual abuse. I've put an end note covering the pertinent information in that scene if anyone wants to skip it.

The first ball was of James grinning down at Cohen while she pinned a Head Boy badge to his robes. Lily didn’t pay much attention to it at first other than rolling her eyes. It was probably one of the ones from Cohen. She seemed like the kind of girl who needed to be the centre of attention all the time, with the way she was always dripping in more jewels than the Queen.

It was only when Lily murmured the spell Mrs Ross had said would bring her the nearest of the balls she’d enchanted herself that she frowned slightly. The ball with the image of James and Cohen nudged at her shoulder, pushing at her until she’d cancelled the spell.

Well. That was unexpected.

“Sev,” she asked, turning to where Severus was standing next to her, “can the crystal balls be enchanted more than once?”

“By the original enchanter or someone else?”

“Someone else.”

Severus shrugged slightly as he watched the image in a ball he’d plucked out of the air. “If they have enough magic and desire. Why?”

“No reason.”

Her attempt to be nonchalant apparently failed as Severus raised an eyebrow before reaching for the ball next to her. A quick tap had the scene of James and Cohen projecting in front of them like a hologram. Cohen leapt at James after pinning the badge to his robes, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her up and spun her around.

Severus glanced at her with the same expression he’d had when she’d Sorted Gryffindor. The same expression he’d always had when he thought she’d done something unforgivably daft. “Lily,” he said slowly, “what did you do?”

“How do you know I did anything?” She scowled as she crossed her arms over her chest. Severus never used to accuse her of things, not like Alice or Marley. It was why she was glad he’d been invited to James’ party too. At least she’d have _someone_ to talk to who didn’t think Cohen was perfect.

Except that Severus didn’t respond the way he normally would. He didn’t change the subject or look at her with wounded, puppy dog eyes until she gave in and did it for him. He matched her scowl with one of his own before taking her arm and dragging her to a quiet corner of the ballroom.

“You did _something_ ,” he hissed, “and I can’t help you fix it if you won’t tell me what it is!”

Lily shook her arm out of his grasp. “I did not! I only sent the crystal balls like Mrs Ross told me too!”

“ _You_ sent Potter a wish for his betrothed to celebrate with him after he’s made Head Boy?”

“Of course not!” Lily leaned against the wall in a huff. “It was both of us as Head Boy and Girl. I told Mrs Ross about it and everything, she said it was fine.”

Fine as long as she remembered that James should be wearing those special robes only he and Cohen were allowed to wear, but that was just silly. He couldn’t be Head Boy if his robes were electrocuting people all the time.

Severus pinched his brow between his fingers for a moment before looking back up at her. “Please tell me you did not go on one of your ridiculous crusades like when you tried to get the mill shut down.”

“That wasn’t ridiculous!”

“You said it was yourself!”

“I _said_ it was ridiculous to think anyone would listen to a twelve year old!” Lily crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to get that mill shut down,” she muttered, “it’s polluting everything and no one cares.”

“It’s also employing your father and my mother.” Severus shook his head, likely because this was an old argument between them. He’d never agreed with her flyers and door-knocking and morning pickets. He’d grumbled and sighed and told her she was being daft, but he’d always gone with her anyway.

Except now. Lily felt her shoulders slump as the lights from the thousands of crystal balls danced around her.

“Do the summoning spell again,” Severus said with a hint of a sigh in his tone. He watched as the same ball floated persistently at her shoulder before bonking her on the head.

“It seems Potter wanted to make a point.” Severus paused for a moment, eyeing her the way he had when she’d first started studying with James. “You didn’t include Cohen in any of the wishes, did you?”

“Of course not,” she scoffed, “why should I? It’s not her party.”

“For Salazar’s—” Severus broke off with a shake of his head, his expression almost pitying when he looked back at her. “Why do you insist on making life difficult for yourself? If you’d listened to Lady Ross —”

“I did listen!”

She had. Mostly. She’d listened about James’ party and how she was to picture all the things she wanted for his future. Severus watching her with that infuriating quirked brow of his didn’t change anything.

“I _did_ listen,” she insisted. “Some of what she said was daft, is all.”

Severus groaned. “ _Lily_.”

“Well it was!” Honestly, the fuss they all made about Cohen and her ‘new line’, as though there was something remarkable about her kids looking like her. Everyone’s kids looked like them, unless they were adopted. It wasn’t _that_ big of a deal.

Severus obviously thought it was, though he didn’t say anything. Only gave her that pitying look again.

“You are the most impossible Gryffindor I have ever met in my life,” he said mildly. “Stop trying to find the globes you charmed. I doubt Potter left even one of them unaltered. It would have been too offensive to his magic, as well as Cohen.”

Lily huffed as Severus led her away from the corner they’d been standing in. Cohen _again_. Not everything in the world had to revolve around bloody Cohen.

* * *

The second ball wasn’t even Lily’s fault, really. She was only trying to talk with Alice and Marley for a bit before they ran off to FitzRoy and Greengrass again. _She_ hadn’t been the one to send Madeline off to talk to Cohen. She certainly hadn’t asked for a report on what the ball following her about looked like.

“Well then?” Marley demanded when Madeline got back. “Hurry, before my gran comes over here with another Ross for me to dance with.”

Madeline’s cheeks were bright and her eyes sparkling as she gushed. “Oh, it’s lovely! Did you know they’d bought the old Chalmers estate?”

“No.” Marlene poked Alice in the ribs. “Why didn’t you tell me? They’ll be closer to the Macmillans now. Gran’s going to have kittens, especially after that fuss with the cousins.”

Alice shoved Marley’s hand away with a slight smile. “They barely spent a few weeks there at the end of summer. It was Rosemary’s idea to take charge of the village, James only hired a manager.”

“Of course it was,” Lily muttered. Taking charge of an entire _village_ sounded exactly like the sort of thing Cohen would do.

If anyone heard her, they didn’t say, only urged Madeline to continue her description of the ball that supposedly showed James’ hopes and dreams for his family’s future. As if he could _actually_ show his hopes and dreams when he knew an entire bloody ballroom of stuffy guests would be judging him for it.

“Well, Rosemary called it Stinchcombe House,” Madeline said, “I think James might want to make it the heir’s home proper when they’re not at Rosemary’s estate. They haven’t one, you know, they’ve not needed to in —”

“About two centuries,” Marley waved her hands at Madeline, “we know, get on with it. Not all of us can stand around all night.”

Madeline huffed slightly, but did as she was asked. “ _Anyway_ , it’s at a park in the village, according to Rosemary and that _yummy_ brother of hers, the one with the hair that looks like it was made for grabbing onto.”

“The Asian boy,” Lily said dryly. Purebloods did have an odd way of refusing to state the obvious.

Like now, Madeline looking at her quizzically and saying, “I thought he was English. He hasn’t a bit of an accent, for a muggle.”

“Well his parents weren’t likely from Yorkshire, were they?”

“They might’ve been,” Madeline sniffed, “the Patils are from the Midlands.”

Alice interrupted before Lily could point out that that Patils must have gotten to the Midlands from _somewhere_. “His name is Thomas and Rosemary thinks he fancies a girl at his school,” she said, “tell us about the wish before we have to go save James from the Slughorns.”

“Well, they were playing a muggle sport—not rugby, that one where you can’t use your hands—”

“Football,” Lily said, with a roll of her eyes.

“Yes, that one,” Madeline spared Lily a single glance before turning back to Marley and Alice. “Oh, you should have seen how many children there were, at least enough for a quidditch team, and all of them had Rosemary’s freckles except the babies and Theodoric—”

“Theodoric?” one of the girls Lily only vaguely recognised asked.

“The boy twin,” Marley said impatiently, “I’ll explain later. What else was there?”

Madeline’s grin grew even wider, if that were possible. “James and Rosemary together under a tree if you look hard enough. I don’t think Rosemary’s noticed, she kept staring at the children playing with the muggles. It’s perfect though, they’ve got two little ones asleep between them and James keeps looking at her like…well, like he does.”

Everyone around Lily nodded with soft smiles that made her frown and look about the room for James. He never looked at Cohen in any special way. Not that she’d ever seen, at any rate. If anything, he seemed far more serious now than he ever had before. He was almost never in the common room anymore, always disappearing off to his room to study and only coming out for meals and quidditch.

Even now, at his own party, he was off in a corner with a wizard who looked old enough to be their great-grandfather instead of enjoying himself with his friends. Lily watched as the man bowed slightly before James slipped into the crowd.

“Why do you think he chose a muggle park,” one of the girls asked, drawing Lily away from her attempt to see where James had gone. That was a question she’d been wondering as well.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Madeline said. “He’s making sure everyone knows he’ll be even more of a reformer than his father. Stinchcombe House instead of Linfred, football instead of quidditch, and there’s not a bit of magic in any of it. He’ll be pushing for muggle integration instead of just muggleborns.”

Lily stared at her. “You got all that from a few kids playing footie?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Madeline said, “but—”

“James doesn’t think like that,” Alice interrupted before Lily could. “That would make sense if it was you or Xavier, but James is more a Gryffindor than any of us. He wouldn’t have thought to put in hidden meanings.”

“What does it mean then?”

“That he doesn’t care about Rosemary or their children having magic.” One of the Hufflepuff girls who was always part of Cohen’s entourage shrugged as everyone turned to look at her. “Have you all forgotten what it was like for him last year? It was so bad that Uncle Monty wouldn’t let me and Caroline visit and we’re family. James won’t forget that in a hurry, no matter how much everyone likes Rosemary now.”

There was a slight murmuring of agreement before Madeline turned to Alice and asked what Cohen had made for James’ ball. She didn’t find out though, Alice barely getting a word out before rushing into an apology and running off.

“What do you think that was about?” Lily asked as she tried to see where Alice had disappeared to.

One of the other girls rolled her eyes. “Her grandmother or Rosemary needed something, obviously.” She turned to ask Marley something about James, all but blocking Lily out of the circle. “Oh, I hope she hurries,” she sighed as Marley ran off too, “I’ll have to wait for someone to think to write Ivy if she doesn’t, and you know what Lord Julian is like.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” the Hufflepuff girl said soothingly. “James asked Caroline and Xavier to stand with him, we’ll find one of them if Marley gets called away.”

“Or you could go talk to him yourself,” Lily drawled. Honestly, just because _Cohen_ was the worst sort of snob, didn’t mean _James_ was.

The first girl stared at her as though she’d suggested intentionally sitting in dog poo. “I _could not_ ,” she said. “It’s his _confirmation ball_ , he’s far too busy for the likes of me. I’m glad to have been invited.”

“You’re a person, aren’t you?” Lily asked. “Just go up to him and introduce yourself. He’s not nearly as stuck up as those robes he wears at school make him seem, I promise.”

Nearly all of the girls were staring at her now, even Madeline. Lily rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Well? I’m the only one here who knows him properly, aren’t I? I thi—”

“I think you should bloody well shut up,” one of the girls snapped, “before you embarrass yourself even more than you already have. Lydia and Audrey are Potter’s _cousins,_ I think they know him a sight better than you do.”

The Hufflepuff girl and another girl Lily vaguely recognised from Gryffindor smirked as they gave her little waves. Lily drew herself up despite the blush she could feel heating her face.

“Maybe they do,” she said, “but it’s still ridiculous to stand here whinging when we could go talk to him ourselves. It’s not the dark ages, we won’t get thrown in the Tower for getting above ourselves.”

“ _Lily_ ,” Madeline sighed, before Marley rushed back with a glowing ball in her hands.

“Talcott and his great-grandfather were keeping him busy,” she said, “but he slipped this to me when they weren’t looking. Hurry, I don’t think it’ll last very long.”

The group of girls all huddled around Marley to see the image projected above the ball. Whatever it was, Lily knew she couldn’t be seeing the same thing. There would be no reason to coo over kids or jewellery in the scene just visible between Madeline and the Hufflepuff girl. Not when there were no kids in it. Only James and Cohen reading the same book under a tree, Cohen settled between James’ legs with her back pressed against his chest. Cohen laughed and squirmed as James pressed kisses to her neck, eventually turning so that he dropped the book in order to kiss her properly.

Lily quietly backed away when the image of Cohen pulled James to lay on the grass with her. She found a corner of the room away from everyone else and whispered the spell Mrs Ross had taught her, watching carefully to see where the ball came from.

Which was how she found the third ball. It came from the part of the room opposite where Marley and the rest were gathered, soaring over the heads of the other guests until it shuddered to a stop in front of her. Lily took a breath before forcing herself to look inside it.

It was nearly the exact scene she had sent James. High up in the quidditch stands, like pictures she’d seen in books on quidditch history. James had his face painted with three lions instead of the cross of Saint George she’d imagined, but he still cheered and threw his arms around the girl next to him when the seeker in the blue and white kit caught the snitch right in front of them.

Except that the girl was Cohen instead of her. And James didn’t stop at jumping up and down with his arms around her. He dragged her to him, one of his hands tangling in her hair while the other slipped down to rest just above her bum as he kissed her.

“England hasn’t won the Cup since before the Norman invasion.” Severus’ voice was quiet behind her, but Lily still jumped enough to nearly drop the ball. “Potter’s not that much of a dunderhead when it comes to quidditch,” he continued, looking at her rather than the ball. “That was one of yours.”

Lily nodded. “I don’t think it matters though,” she said. “I think I’ll see some version of mine no matter what.”

Severus watched her for a moment before quietly summoning a ball to himself and glancing at it. “This is one of mine,” he said as he handed it to her. “It should show Potter watching Cohen present her Mastery research.”

“That’s not exactly a wish for James,” she said without looking at the ball.

“Of course not,” Sev scoffed. He crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. “Every wish I have for Potter would get me thrown out of Hogwarts. Cohen and Prince will be happy enough with what I sent, now stop stalling and look at the bloody globe.”

“I’m not stalling,” Lily muttered. She wasn’t. She just didn’t particularly care to watch Cohen, whether she was with James or not.

“And I’m Her Majesty, the Queen.” Severus reached out to tap the ball before Lily could stop him, bringing up an image of Hogwarts that told her all she needed to know.

The image didn’t stop when she tapped the ball herself either, nor when she asked Sev to do it. It just kept going, showing Cohen waiting for James on the far side of the lake and him scooping her up the minute his feet hit the shore. He spun her around as Lily turned away, the ball bobbing back into her view as he took off the crown Cohen was wearing and replaced it with another. She tried closing her eyes, only to open them back up again when she could still see James dropping to one knee. The scene ended with him holding up a ring, leaving Lily with her arms wrapped around herself to stave off a sudden chill.

“Tell me you didn’t send Potter a wish for him to propose to you,” Severus groaned.

Lily swallowed past the thick feeling in her throat. “You saw that?”

“Only after you tapped it.” Severus carefully turned her around to look at him. “That’s complex magic. Far more complex than Potter is capable of on his own.”

“He’s more clever than you think.”

“I am _aware_ he’s clever,” Severus snapped, “but he is not patient. This required patience and skill as much as strength, he can’t have done it on his own. And…” Severus hesitated for a moment before looking her in the eye and pressing on. “I think it might be a Prince spell.”

Lily wrenched herself away. “Alice wouldn’t do that.”

Severus laughed slightly, a low, sardonic chuckle that twisted his face. “She would. The maternal branch of the family is ruthless toward those who try to interfere in their courtships. I should know.”

“You’re wrong. She’s my best friend and—” Lily took a breath. “She just wouldn’t do that.”

“Believe what you like,” Severus shrugged, “but the fact remains that you’re not likely to leave this ballroom without seeing exactly what Potter thinks of each and every globe you sent him. I suggest you ask your _best friend_ to help you sort through them.”

Severus turned with a swirl of his robes, stalking off before Lily could think to call after him.

* * *

He was right, of course. The fifth ball floated in front of her when she stepped outside for some air, following her line of vision until she swatted at it in frustration. She tried closing her eyes when the image began to rise up out of it, before the lights coalescing into a shape behind her eyelids reminded her that it was useless.

She watched as James spoke to an assembly of some sort, passion clear on his face and in his gestures. When he finished, he made his way into the seats surrounding him. To a specific seat, left empty between Cohen and an older man who looked nearly exactly like him. Cohen stood as he approached, smiling at him as he clasped her hands and bussed her cheek before seating himself. There was a slight pause, a breath where Lily braced herself for something more.

Then there was nothing. Only a showing of hands. James brought Cohen’s hand to his lips before the image faded, but that was it.

Lily found herself breathing more easily as the ball floated away. It was almost sad, really, how dull Cohen seemed to have convinced James their lives must be. Posh robes and fussy meetings, nothing exciting or interesting. James would be bored to tears living a life like that. She found herself remembering studying with him, and how he could never last even an hour before he was doing something like dashing off with her gloves or hat.

She nodded to herself as she prepared to head back inside. Cohen could never understand James. She was too stiff, too formal. She and Reg made far more sense. And, since none of them seemed to be able to see past their ridiculous ideas of how Potters were _supposed_ to feel, Lily would just have to force them to understand.

She reached for the door, shaking her head slightly. _Purebloods_ , honestly. None of them could see past the horrible traditions they’d tied themselves up in.

* * *

It was easier to watch the sixth ball after that. Easy to roll her eyes at the lavish, crowded affair that was the image of James and Cohen getting married. Of course Cohen would want an elaborate wedding. Heaven forbid she not be dripping in diamonds and rubies for ten seconds. She’d probably melt right into the floor like the Wicked Witch of the West.

That James couldn’t even seem to think up a _real_ honeymoon was telling enough that Lily found herself laughing softly as she watched him and Cohen watch a sunset from a balcony somewhere. It was such a _boring_ scene, she couldn’t even be bothered when James nuzzled against Cohen before giving her a soft kiss.

“What’s so funny?”

Lily shrugged as a girl she thought might be in Ravenclaw nudged the ball toward herself. “Nothing,” she said, watching to see if the scene would change.

It didn’t, from what she could tell, but the girl’s expression still softened as she watched. “They’re darling, aren’t they? Whoever made this one even got their expressions right.”

“It’s only a sunset,” Lily scoffed.

The girl watched her for a moment before shaking her head. “Yes, to you I suppose it is. You know, you might think about _listening_ to Lady Ross when she tries to teach you things. You’re wasting an opportunity most of us can only dream about.”

She flounced off before Lily could think to say anything, joining a group of girls with an ease that spoke of years of friendship.

“Purebloods,” Lily muttered. That was the worst part of all of these things. All of the purebloods seemed to have known each other their entire lives. They gathered in clumps, exchanging jokes and gossip no one who hadn’t grown up with them could ever hope to understand. They did at Hogwarts too, but at least there they were less obvious about it. They didn’t leave out anyone who couldn’t trace their family back fifteen generations.

“Actually,” someone said, making Lily jump, “Lexington is muggle-raised.”

Aston-Primrose was standing next to her, wearing robes in varying shades of blue. They weren’t that different from the robes Lily herself was wearing, nor was Aston-Primrose draped in sapphires and diamonds like she had been at the ball before Christmas, but somehow she still managed to look…posh.

“You mean muggleborn,” Lily said. She frowned as she realised that the flowers in Aston-Primrose’s hair were similar to the ones worn by Wendy and Emily Potter. No one else had been wearing those particular flowers. Not even Alice.

“No,” Aston-Primrose gave her a scathing look, “I mean muggle- _raised_. She isn’t too stuck up her own arse to accept help when it’s offered, which is why _she_ is over there enjoying herself while _you_ can’t seem to convince even your friends to join you.”

“My friends—”

“Are having a perfectly lovely time without _you_.” Aston-Primrose nodded in the direction of where Alice and Marley were laughing with James and Cohen. The entire Gryffindor quidditch team was gathered around them, in fact, as well as Scarlett Prewett and Dorcas Meadowes. James and Rosemary seemed to be trading off telling a story, each of them gesturing wildly and drawing more people to the circle around them.

Even Severus looked to be, if not happy, at least relatively content, coming up then with the two Slytherin Goldsteins. His smirk could almost be mistaken for a smile as he glanced at her and Aston-Primrose.

“If you’re arranging a duel for Black’s hand, you should know he’s spending the week with the Zabinis,” he said. He paused for a moment before adding, “A bit foreign for his parents’ usual tastes, but Bella and Cissa did break the mould.”

Aston-Primrose seemed to just barely keep from rolling her eyes. “Cantrelle’s about as interested in courting as I am. We all know Reg’s only—” her lip curled slightly as she glanced at Lily “—blowing off steam.”

“Does that mean no duelling then?” the prefect Goldstein asked. “Flitwick said he’d give me extra credit if I qualified as a director for the under-16s and I still need three more judgements.”

“Wh—”

“Extra credit?” Aston-Primrose quirked an eyebrow at the prefect Goldstein while she took a sip from her glass. “Well, of course _that_ _’s_ worth ruining James’ confirmation ball. Do you think here or the courtyard would be better?”

“Are—”

Lily’s attempt to ask if they’d all gone mad was interrupted again, this time by the girl Goldstein.

“Oh, here, of course,” she said, “James and Rosemary will want to watch. We can make it a confirmation present.”

Lily stared as all four of them—even Severus—burst into chuckles.

“You’re all terrible,” she spat, turning on her heel and marching away. She ignored Severus calling after her. If he wanted to spend time with people who thought it was funny to make jokes only they could understand, fine. He could do it without her.

She was not prepared for the ball that floated in front of her as she left the ballroom. It brought her up short, both because she nearly knocked into it and because it made no sense.

There was a castle inside it, but not the castle she was standing in. There were soaring towers and what looked like a quidditch pitch, but it wasn’t Hogwarts. She watched as two figures that had to be James and Cohen flew in the air on winged horses, trying to sort out where it could be and why he might pick it.

James already had a castle. She was standing in it right at that moment. There was no reason for him to want another. No reason for him to wish for this instead of the cosy cottage, close to all their friends and everything they might want, that she had wished for him.

She raised her wand and summoned another of the balls, wondering if it might help. Once again, she realised she was unprepared for the image inside it. This time because it was nearly identical to the end of one she’d sent.

It rose up as if it were a ghost, mist coalescing to form a picture of James with Cohen’s arms wrapped around his back. He cupped her face with one hand, the other falling to gently rest on her stomach. The image didn’t end there though, the way hers had. Instead it continued, showing how James brushed his lips against Cohen’s just once before leading her away.

Another ball bobbed in front of her before she could fully consider the one she’d just seen. It all but erupted in light, showing James smiling down at an impossibly small baby bundled up in a green blanket. He turned as Lily watched, his face lighting up when he saw Cohen sleepily pushing herself to sit in a bed so large it could probably fit several entire families.

James carefully set the baby in her arms, kissing her softly before climbing into the bed behind her. Cohen settled against him with a visible sigh as his arms came around her to help support the baby and slip open her dressing gown—also conveniently blocking Lily’s view of more of Cohen than she really wanted to see, even if it was only what James imagined she might look like someday.

It went on for longer than Lily might have expected, Cohen’s eyes closing as she rested against James. The only way to tell it kept going was the way James would occasionally move his hand from trailing along Cohen’s arm to gently brushing a finger against the baby’s head or cheek. Just when Lily thought she’d have to find some way to vanish it before she was forced to watch James and Cohen for the rest of her life, it disappeared, the ball bobbing off along with the others.

She stood there after, slowly counting the seconds as she waited for another ball to appear. After four minutes, twenty-three seconds, she tried summoning one to herself.

It was empty. Or blank. There was nothing to see, at any rate. Lily counted up the images she’d seen and realised there were three missing.

She laughed softly to herself when she realised. Of course they were. For all that Regulus had gone on about strong magic and how hard it must have been for James to not give in to it, _James_ had never mentioned anything of the sort. He’d nearly said the opposite, last year when she’d first told him how completely mad he was being about Cohen.

Prim, fussy, overly formal Cohen who hadn’t managed to inspire more than a few kisses, no matter what Reg had said. Lily smirked as she made for the garden James and Cohen had slipped away to. James had always been full of life and passion, until Cohen had gone and made him think he was something he wasn’t. She could make him see that, she was sure of it. She just needed to be able to talk to him for five minutes and he’d remember that he was still the same boy who had laughed as she tackled him into a snowbank.

* * *

There was little James wanted to do less than dance with Evans. He forced his magic down as far as he could as he took his place in front of her, sending most of what he couldn’t suppress to wrap around Rosemary. If nothing else, he’d make sure she had no reason to worry about her own magic.

“You didn’t like my gifts,” Evans said as soon as the music began.

James held back a sneer only to keep from having to endure Mother scolding him for being impolite to a guest. “Caught that, did you? Guess I owe Alice a galleon.”

“Alice knew?” Evans’ voice broke just enough that James knew he’d not be telling Alice if he could help it. It had taken him _and_ Remus to convince her to help with the spell as it was.

He shrugged, waiting until they were facing each other again to respond. “She’s Rosemary’s sister,” he said, “she’s the one who taught me the spell.”

Not that she had wanted to, and the thought of how conflicted she’d been when she’d done it had James stopping short. Both for her and for the thought of how Rosemary would feel if she was the reason Alice lost a friend—even if that friend was Evans.

“You should thank her,” he said, talking over Evans when she tried to interrupt, “it’s dangerous to interfere with magic like mine and Rosemary’s. Everyone’s just trying to keep you from getting yourself cursed.”

Evans rolled her eyes, her mouth twisting into a scowl that made James fight to keep from cringing. “ _We_ have strong magic,” she said. “Even Cohen told you to dance with me.”

“What does—” James blinked at Evans for a moment before bursting out laughing. “You _can_ _’t_ think Rosemary’s worried I might change my mind. I’m wearing her colours at _my_ confirmation ball!”

It was clear from the way Evans continued to glower at him that she hadn’t the slightest idea what that meant. How rare it was for an heir to do more than acknowledge his consort at the celebrations that were supposed to be entirely about him. James shook his head, continuing to chuckle as they moved away from each other momentarily. Rosemary mightn’t be _happy_ about how strong his and Evans’ magic could be—he could feel in her magic exactly how hard she was trying to keep it from bothering her, in fact—but they both knew he’d sooner snap his own wand than end their courtship.

He smirked as he was forced to take Evans’ hand again. “Rosemary knows we’re going to marry and have a family the entire magical world will be jealous of,” he said. “The only reason she asked me to waste a dance with _you_ is that she wants our children to be as happy as we are.”

Slightly more than James himself did, if he was being perfectly honest. He tried to imagine standing across from Evans one day, watching as their children signed a binding betrothal agreement. He wasn’t entirely sure Malfoy mightn’t be a better option. Malfoy at least would know better than to try splitting up a couple who wanted a courtship that serious, no matter if they were in first year or fifth.

Evans, on the other hand, only looked confused. “You don’t even have kids yet.” She froze for a moment, missing a step and nearly making James stumble, before turning to him with a horrified expression. “You _didn_ _’t_. James, we’re _four_ —”

“Fourteen, yes, I know.” James only just kept from rolling his eyes. He wasn’t willing to risk Rosemary, but Evans didn’t have to keep harping on about how old they were. “I didn’t mean _now_. Rosemary needs to finish her Mastery first.”

Evans eyed him warily. “What about your Mastery?”

James shrugged. Transfiguration was a less dangerous Mastery, usually. He could do it well enough no matter when he and Rosemary started their family. Not like Potions, which was far too dangerous for a witch starting a family, or even Healing, which took up nearly all an Apprentice Healer’s time.

“Mine is less important,” he said. It was, at least compared to Potions and Healing. It would be different if Rosemary wanted to study Charms or Arithmancy.

Evans, of course, immediately began spluttering. “It is not! Not everything has to be about Cohen, you’re just as important as she is!”

“I know that.” James frowned as he and Evans parted and then returned to each other. “What are you going on about?”

He was Lord Stinchcombe. Everyone knew he was important. If anything, he seemed to have to spend an inordinate amount of time reminding people that _Rosemary_ was just as important as he was. That she was clever and beautiful and worth more than all the gold in the world and he was bloody lucky she’d forgiven him for all the messes he’d made.

“I don’t think you do,” Evans said with a quick shake of her head. “I think you’ve forgotten what you used to be like. You’ve _changed_ James, all because of Cohen.”

James couldn’t hold back his sneer this time, no matter what Mother might want. “I know what I used to be like better than you do,” he snapped, a million images of Rosemary holding back tears and forcing smiles rushing through his head. “I was a wanker and I hurt Rose—”

“There you go again!” Evans threw her hands up, giving the dance up completely so that James had to ask Linfred to encourage the other dancers to move around them in order to avoid a scene. “You can’t go more than two sentences without talking about Cohen! Don’t you care about _anything_ besides her?”

“No.”

It was a simple statement, one that was as true as it was false, and it brought Evans up short. She stared at him, her jaw hanging slightly open as though she had expected any answer but that one.

“James, that’s…”

He shrugged as she trailed off. It was what it was. He cared about flying and quidditch and duelling. Linfred and making Father proud and the advanced Transfiguration he was working on with McGonagall. But at the end of it, if he had to choose, there was nothing he could imagine being unwilling to give up for Rosemary.

The thought should have terrified him. It would likely send a Malfoy or Weasley running. Evans certainly looked as though she couldn’t imagine anything worse. But James wasn’t Evans. He wasn’t a Malfoy or a Weasley. And he was absolutely certain that Rosemary felt the exact same way about him.

“She’s my betrothed,” he said. “My _family_. Nothing matters more to a Potter than family.”

Evans continued to stare at him for a moment longer. “I don’t believe that,” she said quietly. “You’re more than just your family. You’re clever and fun and—”

“ _Stop_ , Evans,” James clenched his fingers to keep from running his hands through his hair, “Merlin’s sake, we’re not friends, alright? You don’t bloody know me any better than anyone else.”

It wasn’t a surprise, not after the show globes she’d given him, but James still found himself a bit lost as he and Evans watched each other. He’d thought he’d marry her not that long ago. Even a year ago he’d still thought she could make a good friend. Now he found himself wondering what mess Father had helped him avoid the day he’d brought Rosemary to Linfred.

“You’d be better off if you’d never met Cohen,” Evans said, seeming to mirror and warp his thoughts all at once. She opened her mouth to say more, but James didn’t hear it. Couldn’t hear it, beneath the roar of his magic surging under his skin.

He never had been able to control his magic at the thought of not having Rosemary. He’d gotten better, after hours of practice with nearly everyone in the family, but he was sure it would always be his biggest weakness. He forced his back straight, hoping the castle would help dispel the worst of the flames as he strode over to Rosemary in a way he could only hope didn’t look frantic.

He’d have to do something about Evans. He wasn’t foolish enough to think she’d go back to the uneasy distance they’d had before after this, not when she’d obviously made up her mind to drive him completely mad. That could come later though. He’d ask Father and McGonagall to arrange it. After he’d held Rosemary long enough to reassure himself that she would always be right next to him.

* * *

There was something about the way James pushed Cohen against the wall that made Lily wonder, just for a moment, if she might have been wrong. There was fire in his eyes again, the leaping, unrelenting blaze that still sent shivers down her spine.

Then he stopped. Pulled himself back, as though being near Cohen doused every bit of spark in him. There was barely a hint of warmth in his expression when he lowered his head to give Cohen something that could barely be called a kiss.

Lily was drawn away by Severus tugging on her arm, not letting go until he’d dragged her into a secluded corner.

“What did you do?” he hissed.

Lily jerked her arm away with a huff. “ _Nothing_! Why do _I_ have to be the one who did something?”

Severus drew himself up to his full height—which was several inches taller than she remembered—and crossed his arms over his chest. “Even Potter isn’t dunderheaded enough to risk his mother’s wrath,” he said. “You had to have done more than send him an insulting gift to make him storm out of the room like that.”

“It wasn’t insulting!”

“It bloody well was!” Severus closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before looking back at Lily with the same pleading expression he’d had when she’d stormed off after he’d had a fight with Tuney. “I know more—”

“No you don’t!” Lily scowled as she shoved her hair back from flying around her face like it always did when she was angry. Everyone always thought they knew more than she did just because she was a muggleborn. Alice and Regulus and Marley and now Severus, even though they’d _both_ grown up in the same town and _both_ their parents worked at the same mill. He’d spent all of a few weeks with that friend of Cohen’s older brother, going to parties and wearing robes that had to be new, and now suddenly he was trying to tell _her_ about James.

“You don’t know anything,” she snapped. “James _liked_ my gift. He kept three of them!”

The three that Lily had been most hesitant to send, in fact. The ones that she had made and erased and made again, over and over until she’d convinced herself that they were perfect. James deserved to be reminded of what they could be like before it was too late.

And it had worked. She knew it had, even if James wasn’t willing to admit it yet. Whatever magic he and Cohen had, it didn’t compare to anything she’d seen of him the one time they were together.

“Three,” Severus repeated, his face whitening as he spoke. “Lily, tell me you did not send Potter _thirteen_ globes.”

Lily shrugged. “Mrs Ross said thirteen is for change.”

“When sending condolences! Not when—” Severus broke off to scrub at his face. “We can fix this,” he mumbled as he began to pace. “Cohen isn’t unreasonable and Potter—”

“I _told_ you, he liked them!”

Severus whirled around at that, staring at her with something uncomfortably close to pity. “No, he didn’t,” he said gently. “Tell me what you sent, I can help—”

“I don’t need your help!”

Lily watched as Severus’ face closed off. As he drew himself up again, the way he always did when he was hurt and trying not to show it. “Sev,” she murmured, only for him to step away from her.

“Suit yourself,” he said, looking over her shoulder instead of at her face, “but remember that I _did_ try to warn you.”

He stormed off before she could say anything. Whirled around in a flourish of robes and left her alone.

Right as the eleventh ball flew in front of her.

It was different from the rest, she could tell that from the moment she saw it. It glowed just slightly blue, the images in it a bit hazy until they burst out of the ball. Then they were more like something on telly than the hologram she’d been expecting. Flat, not something she could turn and see all sides of if she wanted.

Not that she wanted to. Not when she was forced to watch herself stare after James as he fled down the aisle of a church. He didn’t look back, not once, stopping only when he saw Cohen nearly hidden behind a tree in a park across from the church. Then it was barely a breath before he dashed across the road to scoop her up. 

The image faded as James kissed away Cohen’s tears, another ball bobbing in front of Lily’s eyes before she could move. It was longer than any of the others had been, the initial scene of James smiling as Cohen curtsied to Lily being just the beginning. Lily found herself fascinated without wanting to be, unable to look away as she and James seemed to live out a nearly perfect life together.

Nearly, except for the fact that Cohen hovered in the background of every image. She followed James into what was clearly his bedroom every night, while Lily slipped into the room next door. Ran her fingers through his hair as he knelt and whispered to her stomach, Lily looking on with a strained smile. Dashed her hand across her eyes as James handed Lily a baby with curls that could only have come from one of them.

There wasn’t time for Lily to do more than gape at the scene before another ball darted into its place. She steeled herself, drawing herself up the way Sev did as she saw another chapel. The exact same chapel, in fact, that she’d pictured in the gift she’d sent James. A tiny, picturesque place she’d seen on a postcard once and immediately fallen in love with.

She didn’t think she’d ever be able to imagine it the same way again. Not when she was watching James cling to Cohen, giving her a drawn out kiss before dashing inside with his glasses still askew. Lily didn’t need to keep watching to know that she would be the one on his arm when he came out again. Nor was she surprised when the scene faded into the exact cottage she’d imaged for their home.

The wish twisted again, this time showing James slipping out of the cottage in what must have been the dead of night. He apparated to a manor house where Cohen was clearly waiting for him, opening the door and leaping into his arms as soon as he arrived.

Lily tried to close her eyes as the door closed behind James. She knew what was coming next. Could picture the cosy, comfortable kitchen and table overflowing with the picked over remains of a meal. She didn’t need to see herself grinning brightly as she handed James a small, carefully wrapped box.

She did though, no matter how much she didn’t want to. She watched as the image played itself in her head, showing the stiffness in James’ smile as he stared at the bauble in his hands. “Baby’s 1st Christmas,” it read, with the year carefully written the way it was on the baubles her mum had bought the years she and Tuney had been born.

The stiffness hadn’t been there in her wish. Nor had the image continued on, showing James collapsing back into his seat at the table and dropping his head into his hands after she left the room.

Lily stumbled back a step when the scene she knew was coming next began. She shook her head, trying to dispel the image of herself looking down at a bundle with black hair just peeking over its blanket.

Only herself, unlike the wish she’d sent James. Just her and the baby, her with tears streaking down her face.

She could feel actual tears forming at the corners of her eyes as the image faded. Tears she forced back, no matter that the corner Sev had dragged her to still seemed to be invisible to everyone else. They were only pictures. Nothing real. She took a deep breath and quickly dabbed at her eyes.

Then the last image appeared. James and Cohen asleep in bed, the blankets tucked tight enough around them that Lily could see how protectively James cradled Cohen’s belly. He pressed himself closer against her back as he slept, until there wasn’t a hint of space between them. Lily gave up her attempt to muffle a sob when she caught sight of the ring on Cohen’s finger. The same ring she wore now. A ring Lily hadn’t worn in even one of the images in the balls.

She fled the room without really seeing. Shoved her way past the people who had gathered in the centre of the ballroom, thinking only of getting away from the balls before they could ruin any more of her dreams.

* * *

Wendy wasn’t brave. She was frightened of nearly everything, crowds and boys and loud noises and being spoken to too sharply. She still wasn’t entirely sure how she’d managed to be Sorted into Gryffindor instead of Hufflepuff with Sam.

But she watched as Evans ran away from the globes that had been following her all night. Watched as Alice and McKinnon followed her. Took a breath, looked at Fabian, and forced herself to trail after them. Because she wasn’t brave, but she was a Potter and there was nothing more important to a Potter than family.

They arrived just in time to hear Evans accuse Alice of charming the globes. Wendy squeezed Fabian’s hand, pulling him with her as she stepped into the corridor.

“Alice didn’t do anything,” she said, hoping her voice was louder than its usual whisper. “I cast the spell.”

There was silence as everyone except Fabian stared at her. She held his hand tighter, thinking of Rosemary and how she never looked the least bit frightened, no matter that she insisted it was usually an act.

“ _Why_ ,” Evans asked after a moment, her voice still thick with tears.

Wendy did her best to concentrate on the gentle circles Fabian was rubbing along the back of her hand with his thumb to keep her magic from bursting out of her. _Why_. There were a million reasons why, from James’ discomfort to the magic troubles Rosemary tried to hide, but the biggest one was simply that Evans _had no right_.

Alice and McKinnon both knew that, from the way they exchanged glances behind Evans’ back. Not that that stopped Alice from turning to Wendy with a careful smile.

“You didn’t have to,” Alice said gently, “I taught James a Prince spell when he asked.”

Wendy reminded herself that it was ok to be angry. That she was allowed to scowl at Alice—that she _should_ , that it was better to scowl than to try keeping herself bottled up all the time.

“You taught him a spell for _some_ of them,” she snapped. “He didn’t tell you about the last three.”

She didn’t think he had, anyway. It was sometimes hard to tell how much James and Rosemary kept private between the two of them and how much they kept from _her_ , specifically, because they thought she needed protecting.

Wendy didn’t need protecting. Not like that. Not anymore. She didn’t need Rosemary hurting herself because she was too worried about _Wendy_ _’s_ magic to properly take care of her own. Especially when it hadn’t worked. Rosemary had still slipped and mentioned the globes Evans had sent. That was how wobbly her magic had made her. Wobbly enough that she’d seemed nearly feverish as she’d babbled about the globes in the moments before James had appeared and whisked her away.

She’d been horrified after, of course. Had apologised and fussed until Fabian had carefully changed the topic to what they were going to _do_ about Evans’ inappropriate gifts. Even then, it had taken until just the night before to convince her that Wendy was more than willing and able to help.

Now Wendy did her best to convince herself that she was as capable as she’d told Rosemary. She ignored Alice’s stunned expression and ploughed on as though she were James or Fabian. Someone who knew when they were right and didn’t second-guess themselves all the time the way she did.

“She sent James globes where they were—having _sex_ ,” she said, just barely stumbling over the words. It was important to say them, according to her Healer. Important to name things, to take away the secrecy that made them that much more scary.

And they had the exact impact she’d hoped for, Alice and McKinnon both turning to Evans with horror clear on their faces.

“Lily, you _didn_ _’t_ ,” Alice gasped. McKinnon only shook her head, as though she’d half-expected something like this to happen eventually. Maybe she had. Fabian hadn’t seemed all that surprised to learn of Evans’ “gift” either.

Evans sniffled slightly, not looking nearly as remorseful as Wendy thought she should. “I sent him what I hoped for him. He doesn’t have to marry Cohen just because everyone expects him to.”

“Morgana’s—” McKinnon broke off with another shake of her head and moved to stand beside Fabian. “You’re being ridiculous, Lil, and it’s gone too far this time. Either learn to leave Potter and Rosemary alone, or I’ll have to tell my grandmother you’re a proper threat.”

Evans stared at McKinnon as she walked away. Her eyes teared up more as she turned to Alice, who looked to be doing her very best to avoid noticing.

“She’s my sister,” Alice said quietly. “I can’t keep watching while you hurt my sister.”

Alice slipped back into the ballroom, leaving Wendy and Fabian alone with Evans.

It probably wasn’t fair, how much Wendy wanted Evans to hurt right in that moment. How much she’d wanted her to hurt since learning about the globes. About the images of James that would have been floating about for everyone to see if Mummy hadn’t insisted he check all of the ones not sent by close friends or allies, just in case.

He would have hated that. Would have been horrified at the idea, especially since he’d have never wanted the images to exist in the first place. James was hardly modest—he’d throw off his robes and jump into a pond without a moment’s hesitation if it was only family—but everyone knew how protective he was of his courtship. Of Rosemary and their magic and everything they were and could be to each other. Nothing could hurt him the way hurting Rosemary did.

“That was an awful spell,” Evans said quietly. Wendy only shrugged. She couldn’t be sure if it was or wasn’t, really, as she didn’t exactly know what it had done. Fabian had been the one to find it, Rosemary the one to work out how to modify it so Evans couldn’t run away. Wendy had only cast it when it proved better suited to her magic than Fabian’s.

She’d cast it three times, one for each globe. Each time thinking of the pictures of her that were still out in the muggle world somewhere. Pictures that Daddy had apologised for not being able to obliterate entirely. There were too many, he’d explained gently, even all of his contacts in the Auror corps hadn’t been able to guarantee that they’d all been found.

It wasn’t the same thing, Wendy knew. Her Healer would say that it was at least a little bit different. James wasn’t her and Evans wasn’t the men at the orphanage.

She didn’t care. She ignored Evans’ continued murmurings. Instead she moved just a little bit closer to Fabian as they turned to go back into the ballroom. It wasn’t the same thing, but Wendy would cast the spell all over again if she had to. Brave or not, she wouldn’t let someone hurt her brother and almost-sister and get away with it.

**Author's Note:**

> Key information from Wendy's scene:   
> \- Wendy cast the spells on the last three balls for Rosemary  
> \- Alice didn't know about the worst of the show globes Lily sent  
> \- Finding out about those globes was the last straw for Alice and Marlene


End file.
